A roundup of Southwest Florida high school football games played on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025.
Lely 40, Immokalee 28
After a battle last year and some shenanigans during team camp this summer, Lely finally got their revenge.
The Trojans moved to 4-2 on the season, avoiding .500 against a stingy Immokalee squad in a 40-28 win at home.
“They’ve got good players, and a good team,” Lely coach Ben Hammer said. “Coach (James) Delgado does a great job and their staff, getting them prepared. Our kids played really, really hard, and jumped out quick.
“We go to team camp with Immokalee, kind of similar rosters and kids, and they kind of pulled a quick one on us at the end of team camp. Our kids have been waiting for that one for a long time.”
It didn’t take long for the Trojans to get on the board, as Ty Collins took the game’s opening play for a touchdown, gashing the Immokalee defense down the middle to go up 6-0 less than 30 seconds in. Collins took the opening snap at running back because Nino Joseph’s helmet came off on the opening kickoff.
Just a few minutes later, Lely marched down the field again, with Brady Quinn finding Jayden Pino on a 9-yard touchdown on a crossing route. Lely would go scoreless until the 8:05 mark of the second, with Collins splitting the safeties on a post route and racing 50 yards to take a 20-0 lead.
Immokalee’s fight was evident, flirting with being running clocked in arguably their biggest game of the year. The Indians (4-2) responded with a critical touchdown drive of their own, capped off by Cherlin Michel from 7 yards out with 3:42 to play.
“I’m so proud of our team man,” Immokalee coach James Delgado said. “They fricken fought. So proud of our defense. They did so much to freaking play their tails off and put themselves in a situation where we could win.
“I hate that we didn’t execute well enough to beat those guys. They’re not 12 points better than us, but they are dang good. I won’t take that away from them.”
That fight continued from Marshon Jackson, who exploded for the game’s longest play, a 78-yard screen pass just before halftime. Jackson was excellent once again at receiver, catching 6 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, adding 29 yards rushing.
“He’s special, man,” Delgado said. “We have so many guys that have to touch the ball and have opportunities to do something with it. We’ve got to continue a good job of distributing the ball. Our quarterback has to help with that, and he will. He’ll keep getting better. But I know our senior quarterback will be back to help with that too.”
Despite the loss, Immokalee outgained Lely, 436-348.
Immokalee takeaways
Cowgill’s debut. With Chris Germinal out with a broken non-throwing hand, it was up to the Palmetto Ridge transfer to make plays. Cowgill completed 11 of 17 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown, with Germinal watching from the sideline. Germinal was warming up with the team with a large club on his left hand, but Delgado ultimately decided to play the long game and get him ready for district action against Palmetto Ridge and Gulf Coast in back-to-back weeks.
“Proud of our offense having to rally around a sophomore quarterback who’s never had to be under the fire in that situation,” Delgado said. “He took every snap. I’m proud of the way our senior quarterback was a great teammate and tried to help lead him throughout the night.”
Trench war was fun. If you would’ve told Delgado he was holding Joseph to under four yards per carry, Immokalee would’ve loved their chances. Joseph rushed 21 times for 81 yrds, doing more damage as a pass catcher than as a runner. On his side of the football, Cherlin Michel ran for 53 yards and two scores, with Methulus rushing for 54 yards. With sack yardage included, Cowgill rushed for 47 yards, but was able to extend plays and break contain on multiple occasions.
“I know how tough our kids are,” Delgado said. “I know how great our potential is to finish a game. Man, we’re fricken tough. To hold that offense to four yards a carry to that kid, insane. He’s so explosive and so capable. He’s so dang good. He’s one of those guys that on film, you’re going to get his best every time he gets the ball in his hands.
“We did some great things to stop him, stuff him, and earn everything they got.”
Too much speed. Shutting down Joseph was two-fold, with Collins erupting for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 14 touches. The senior often dictated things in the slot, capitalizing on soft coverage on critical third and fourth downs late to extend drives up multiple scores in the second half.
Lely takeaways
Finding different ways to win. The run game had its share of struggles, as did leading receiver Zephaniah Diamond (3 rec, 10 yards), which led to a handful of jet sweeps and pot passes to the boundary to test Immokalee’s speed. It worked more often than not, with Joseph breaking off a 24-yard touchdown pass off a pot pass that took him into the boundary.
Positives on defense. The play of Brady Thomas and Aydin Herrera stood out in multiple spots, with Thomas shutting down a tight end screen on fourth down in the first half, while Herrera put lots of pressure on Cowgill, sacking him at least once.
“The kids are playing hard,” Hammer said. “We talked a lot about not shooting ourselves in the foot. We did a little bit, but as much as have been in our other losses. The kids are playing really hard, and the coaches are working really hard.”
Quinn’s consistency. Hammer doesn’t have to necessarily worry much about his quarterback play, as Quinn completed 16 of 27 passes for 203 yards with four touchdowns. Multiple drops lowered Quinn’s completion percentage, but he was largely on his game throughout the night.
It included a play on fourth down from the Immokalee 13, with Quinn rolling to his right, throwing across his body, and finding Branden Baptiste in the end zone, who mossed his defender from behind to grab a touchdown pass to give Lely a 32-14 lead late in the third quarter.
“It really was similar to Ty’s catch from Carter (Quinn) last year at Barron,” Hammer said. “That’s not one you can really coach. It just happens, and he went up and got a rebound. What an unbelievable play.”
− Alex Martin
Dunbar 21, Lehigh 19
When the Tigers and Lightning get together at Dr. James A. Adams Memorial Stadium, chaos reigns supreme.
With the Dunbar defense coming up with two interceptions in the final five minutes as the team led 21-13, the game appeared out of reach for the Lightning. However, the Lehigh defense hung tough, recovering a Dunbar fumble with 50 seconds left on the clock in Tiger territory.
Lehigh backup quarterback Rayful Guest quickly connected with receiver Levi McKenzie for a 16-yard reception, followed by a 19-yard touchdown pass. With the game coming down a 2-point conversion, Dunbar was able to get pressure on Guest to force an incomplete pass.
“Anytime you have a rival, it doesn’t matter who it is, you’re going to have this kind of situation,” Dunbar head coach Sammy Brown said. “What you build your team on is these kinds of games.”
Dunbar’s Andre Moss hearkened back to the Tigers’ game-winning play two years ago when he returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
Dunbar’s Edgar Delcid kicked a 30-yard field goal to make it 9-0, and it appeared the Tigers might roll after D’Mauri Francois recovered a Lehigh fumble. However, they gave it right back as Lehigh’s Aaron Garcia came up with a key fumble recovery.
Ja’Kiee Robinson got the Lightning on the board with a 7-yard rushing touchdown.
Lehigh was poised to have a chance to score before halftime, but a muffed punt gave the Tigers the ball back in Lightning territory. Moss made them pay with a 17-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Seabrook.
Moss scored his third touchdown of the night on a 61-yard bomb from Seabrook to make the game 21-7. Seabrook finished the game completing 13-of-18 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
After a big kickoff return by McKenzie, Lehigh scored on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to J’Zaya Brown. However, a missed extra point meant the Lightning trailed by 8.
The Tigers chewed clock with their run game, but not enough as the Lehigh defense continued to make plays to give their team a chance.
Ultimately, the Lightning fell one play short of potentially going to overtime for the second time this season.
“A win’s a win,” Brown said. “I feel great. It was one of those things where we knew it was going to be a rival game. I knew Coach (Antwan) Dixon was going to have his guys ready.”
Dunbar takeaways
Defense and special teams came up big. It started with Moss’ opening kickoff return to put points on the board, and the recovery of a Lehigh muffed punt led to Dunbar’s second score.
In the final five minutes, the Tigers picked off Robinson twice with Emmanuel James and Willie Blanks making the big plays. On the 2-point attempt, it was O’Javian Thomas’ pressure that contributed to the misfire on the pass attempt.
“The character down the end – the last two minutes of the ball game is very important,” Brown said. “You want to try to win that middle eight and right after that you got to try to win those last two minutes, and I thought we did that well with the 2-point stop.”
Moss is boss. The junior receiver showcased his electric playmaking from the first play of the game. He finished the game with a hat trick of touchdowns, including four receptions for 77 yards and two scores.
“(Moss is) special – that’s all I can say,” Brown said. “He’s special. He’s a guy you want to have on our team, but our receiving corps – those guys are pretty talented. We just got find creative ways to get them the ball, and that’s my fault. I got to do a better job of getting the ball in some of those playmakers’ hands, but I thought we did pretty good.”
Run game improving. After a tough time getting the ground game going against Naples last week, Dunbar showed signs of progress on Friday. Running back Tylen Gore went for 94 yards on 19 carries, while Seabrook added 29 rushing yards. Their carries late in the game were crucial to help milk the clock.
“That was huge for us – last week we stalled out a little bit,” Brown said. “This week, we got our feet up under us. We’re still not where we want to be, but we were able get through some gaps, create some first downs and get our offense going.”
Lehigh takeaways
Inspired comeback bid. Trailing by two scores in the fourth quarter, the Lightning fought until the final whistle. It began with the Robinson-led drive to pull within a score, and then the defense had their say. In the final six minutes, the unit forced two turnovers on downs and came up with the crucial fumble recovery in the game’s final minute.
“It’s fighting through the end – you can’t give up,” Dixon said. “You never know what can happen. Like, they had a first down, but then we stripped the ball, so you never know what can happen. Just got to push through the whistle.”
Two weapons at quarterback. Robinson’s playmaking has powered the Lehigh offense through the start of the season. On Friday, he rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown and threw for 55 yards and a touchdown against two interceptions. In the second half, the team sprinkled in snaps with Robinson at running back and sophomore Rayful Guest at quarterback.
Guest completed 5-of-6 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown in his action.
“He’s going to be special,” Dixon said. “He’s young, still only 15 years old. I trust him in certain situations, but no. 3 (Robinson) gives us the best chance to win the game.”
Special teams miscues were costly. It started on the opening kickoff when the Lightning gave up a touchdown and continued throughout the night. The muffed punt before halftime allowed Dunbar to extend their lead, and the missed extra point meant the Lightning didn’t have a choice but to go for 2 after scoring in the final minute.
“It’s us,” Dixon said. “Every mistake we make is going to bite us in the butt later in the game. … We got to make better decisions, we got to make better plays and we got to lock in Monday through Thursday.”
− Dustin Levy
Cape Coral 30, Mariner 7
Leading 10-0 at halftime, Cape Coral knew it had a battle on its hand and Mariner delivered.
The Fightin’ Tritons lived up to their nickname, making an undefeated Seahawks team have to earn every first half yard. The Black and Blue Bowl was living up to its title.
It wasn’t until late in the first in the first quarter that Jermaine Skinner ran it in from the 2 to put Cape Coral up 7-0. The short drive was set up by a 5-yard Mariner punt.
The next Seahawk drive nearly ended in disaster when Mariner intercepted a Derek Hooker pass and returned it inside the Cape Coral 10. But the Mariner drive ended with a missed field goal, the first of two empty possessions inside the Cape 10.
“A lot of people had them blowing us out,” Mariner head coach Tyran Jones said. “The score isn’t going to show what actually happened.”
The Seahawks offense showed signs of life to close out the half thanks to the running of Jayden Boyd, but that drive only netted Cape Coral 3 as Briggs Conway hit from 38 yards out with 8 seconds left on the clock.
Mariner came out at half running the ball with Wenstan Penermon doing most of the damage. The lone Triton score came when Owen O’Leary hit Keenan Moore for a 17-yard touchdown pass and Mariner trailed by three with 8:20 left in the third quarter.
“We knew they were going to give us a fight, and this wasn’t going to be an easy one,” Cape Coral head coach Jaylen Watkins said.
Cape Coral responded immediately with Skinner powering the running game and Hooker hitting TJ Schley on some clutch passes. The drive ended on a jet sweep with Soldier Morse taking the ball into the end zone from the 15.
Mariner mounted one last fourth-quarter drive, which was aided by an unsportsmanlike penalty and a facemask call that put the Tritons deep inside the red zone. But a bad snap on another field goal attempt at the 7:24 mark of the fourth quarter doomed Mariner’s chances.
That’s when the Seahawk secondary went into action with two key fourth-quarter picks to put the game away.
“What did we have, three picks?” Watkins said. “Put that with the four we had last week and we might be leading the state.”
Cape Coral managed two fourth-quarter scores with Hooker running it in from the 13 and then hitting Schley on a 30-yard bomb to put the Seahawks up 30-7 with 4:54 left in the game.
The Seahawks took the Black and Blue Bowl trophy as well as the Class 5A-District 10 title.
“It’s special, winning the trophy, taking the district title against a rival and staying undefeated, it’s very special,” Watkins said.
Cape Coral takeaways
The Seahawk secondary rocks. The usually high-flying Triton offense had to rely on its running game against a smothering Cape Coral secondary. Mariner standout receiver Steven Carter, Jr. was held to no catches. Add the three interceptions and even Triton head coach Tyran Jones was impressed.
Cape Coral offense showed up with big plays. The Seahawk offense didn’t deliver a lot of yards, just over 300 in total, but it was the big plays through the air that made the difference. On the ground, Cape Coral produced 125 yards rushing against a stout Mariner defense. But it was three big fourth-quarter passes of 60, 26 and 30 yards on the arm of Hooker (11-18-1, 200 yards) that made the difference. Schley was his favorite target, catching 5 balls for 99 yards and one touchdown.
Watkins loves the turnaround. Three years ago, the Cape Coral football program was on life support. But the last two seasons have brought life to Seahawks football and Watkins has been there to enjoy the ride.
“It just means so much to see what these young men, our coaches and the administration has done to restore pride in this program,” he said.
Mariner takeaways
The Tritons fought but injuries took a toll. Deep into the game, Mariner was giving Cape Coral all it could handle. And that was the message Jones delivered to his players at game’s end.
“We fought for three and a half quarters but I lose both of my corners and that hurt,” Jones said.
Before getting injured, Jamarion Corbett had a fumble recovery and an interception.
The Mariner offense tried to stay true to itself. Mariner likes to throw the ball. But then there’s the Cape Coral defensive backs.
“They’re very fast and very talented,” Jones said.
Mariner tried to keep its passes short and, despite a lot of pressure from Cape, O’Leary avoided sacks.
“We ran the ball really well tonight, and that helped us keep what was going,” said Jones, whose team ended the game with 153 yards on the ground.
Mariner didn’t roll over. Cape Coral came in undefeated and a heavy favorite. But this was a huge rivalry game for the Black and Blue trophy and the Fightin’ Tritons came away from this game, despite the score, with their heads held high.
“When we have all 22 of our starters, we can play with anybody,” Jones said
− John Rinkenbaugh
South Fort Myers 22, Cypress Lake 7
Behind a stout defensive effort and its typically effective running game, the Wolfpack continued their dominance over the Panthers, winning their 12th consecutive meeting with their neighborhood rival.
South Fort Myers (4-2) didn’t allow an offensive touchdown, holding Cypress Lake to less than 150 total yards. The Panthers (3-3) got their lone score in the first quarter, when senior Daniel Johnson pounced on a fumbled punt snap in the end zone to give Cypress Lake an early advantage.
The Wolfpack answered on the ensuing drive with senior quarterback Will Bichler rushing for a 9-yard touchdown on third and goal.
South went ahead for good with just over a minute left in the first half when Bichler connected with freshman wide receiver Jershard Benjamin for a 43-yard touchdown.
That proved to be one of the few productive passing plays in the game as a persistent wind made precise throws difficult for Bichler and Panthers sophomore quarterback Jaydon Henderson. The passers combined to complete just 13 of their 32 passes for just over 120 yards with each tossing an interception.
However, just like they have for much of the season, the Wolfpack were able to bank on the run game. Junior Arthur Gallishaw rushed 29 times for 178 yards while senior Leo Latus added 22 yards on the ground, including a 6-yard touchdown.
“We came into the game knowing we were going to have to run the ball,” South Fort Myers coach Matt Holderfield said. “Their secondary is as good as it gets. Our offensive line did a fairly good job, but we missed some plays because for whatever reason, our timing was off a little bit.”
Cypress Lake takeaways
Offensive line struggled to hold up. South’s defensive front, led by juniors Cornelius Tims and Jadell Carter, made life difficult for the Panthers all game. Cypress Lake ran 48 offensive plays with 15 going for negative yardage.
“They did a good job up front,” Mendes said of South’s defensive line. “They got after us a little bit and we missed some reads. We’ll get back to the drawing board and get it all fixed.”
Javirin Singleton is an ironman. The senior never seems to come off the field for the Panthers. He rushed for a team-best 64 yards on 12 carries, led Cypress with three catches for 23 yards, played every defensive series at cornerback while also fielding punts and kickoffs as a dangerous return man.
Penalties again plagued Cypress Lake. The Panthers committed 11 infractions for more than 120 yards, close to the amount of total offensive yardage they gained. The penalties, six of which were for 15 yards, undid several Cypress Lake drives and helped extend South’s possessions.
South Fort Myers takeaways
Wolfpack kept Jaydon Henderson under wraps. South Fort Myers prevented the dynamic sophomore from making any big plays, dropping Henderson behind the line of scrimmage 10 times and holding him to just 55 yards passing.
“He does such a good job of running around and making plays and their receivers do a terrific job of coming back and helping him,” Holderfield said. “We worked all week on the secondary staying with their routes and the D-line worked on containing and keeping him in the pocket.”
Tims and Carter were terrors. It was an all-around effort for the Wolfpack’s defense but the junior linemen were constantly in the backfield, chasing Henderson and disrupting Cypress Lake’s offensive game plan.
“Those guys are coming on right now at a good time for us,” Holderfield said. “We’ve got a good little rotation of guys there, but Cornelius and Jadell lead our D-line and they did a real good job tonight.”
Glory Days continue for South. Since 2020, the annual matchup between the Wolfpack and the Panthers has been known as the Glory Days Grill Bowl with the winner receiving a chicken wing-themed trophy. South has won all six Glory Days bowls.
− Dan DeLuca
Gulf Coast 28, Barron Collier 21
A rivalry game to remember.
After trading blows in the first three quarters, Barron Collier failed to convert on fourth down in the red zone to tie the game. Gulf Coast took its second consecutive Catfish Bowl victory at Tudryn Field to continue a four-game winning streak.
“It’s a game that [you] circle on the calendar,” Gulf Coast coach Manny Evans said. “These guys know their guys. They grew up together. It’s bragging rights that these seniors will be able to carry on for the rest of their lives when they’re talking to their friends from Baron Collier.”
Gulf Coast (5-2) opened the game with a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Julian Rodriguez to take an early 6-0 lead.
It took until the second quarter for Barron Collier (0-6) to get on the board via a Simon Hincapie 7-yard receiving touchdown. This back-and-forth nature continued for the rest of the game, as neither team obtained more than a seven-point lead.
After the Sharks entered the half with a second 4-yard rushing touchdown from Rodriguez, failing a second two-point conversion, the Cougars responded on their opening third-quarter drive with a 49-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Sam Powell to retake the lead 14-12.
Rushing touchdowns of 57 and 8 yards by Sharks’ running back Jason Altine split by a 13-yard receiving touchdown from Cougars’ wide receiver Jaden Judd set the stage for a final Cougars’ drive.
However, Barron Collier was forced to rely on its biggest weakness, its passing offense, to get the job done. After a pass interference call moved the ball to the Sharks’ 14-yard line with a minute left, a 1-yard rush, an incomplete pass in the endzone, and a throw away set up fourth down at the 19-yard line with 12.5 seconds on the clock.
Powell made the most of this final try, dropping a defender when the backfield collapsed and made a throw deep into the endzone to wide receiver Ben Bracklin who got a hand on the ball but couldn’t reel it in through triple coverage.
Gulf Coast takeaways
The backfield reigned supreme. The Sharks’ trio of Altine, Rodriguez and running back Gio Marceno rushed for 324 yards and four touchdowns. While this number doesn’t reign in comparison to the other showings this trio has shown this season, the Cougars front seven rushing defense pounced on them early, restricting them to single digits for the majority of the game. However, the backfield’s ability to turn minute gains into 4- to 5-yard rushes turned the tide of the game in the late going.
“Being a defensive body coach, you can only plug the damn so many times before it breaks,” Evans said. “Not a lot of explosive plays tonight, but a lot of three yards that turned into six yards that turned into nine and ten. We’re not trying to fool ourselves. Now, can we throw the ball? Yes, we can, but tonight, we knew we had to rely on the run game.”
Rushing defense needs work. Although the Gulf Coast front seven accounted for multiple sacks, breakups, a forced fumble, and several open-field tackles, its goal-line defense, along with its short-yardage defense, needs work. This package allowed the Cougars to score two touchdowns without forcing them to fourth-down attempts, and failed to stop them on numerous third-and-short scenarios.
“He’s our Swiss Army knife.” Two rushing touchdowns and 63 rushing touchdowns aren’t typically a statistic for a tight end, but Rodriguez continued to be one of the most diverse weapons for the Sharks in their seven-point win over the Cougars.
“He’s our Swiss Army knife,” Evans said. “He’s our starting inside linebacker. He’s also a tight end, a wide receiver [and] a quarterback. He’s played defensive end throughout the year. Whatever he’s asked to do, he does it. Whatever college is lucky enough to get him to get done, they truly are… He’s a jack of all trades.”
Barron Collier takeaways
Passing offense struggled. Quarterback Sam Powell struggled to make connections with receivers down the field, as limited time in the pocket forced him to roll out on nearly every play, which resulted in check-downs, throw-away balls, or a rush down the field. He was 7 of 14 for two touchdowns for 38 passing yards and 171 rushing yards.
Stuffing up the middle. The Gulf Coast running back duo of Altine and Marceno is in the midst of 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Yet the Cougars’ front seven held them to only four rushing attempts over 10 yards, with three of the Sharks’ rushing touchdowns coming on a goal-line stand. They restricted the Barron Collier backfield to single-yard rushing attempts for the majority of the game.
Promise on both sides of the ball. Although a 0-6 start to the season was not what Barron Collier had hoped for when they rolled into Tudryn Field, they scored over 20 points for the first time in a year and held a team to under 28 points since their last Catfish Bowl win over Gulf Coast two years ago, where they won 28-21.
− Jeffrey Hrunka
Naples 34, Fort Myers 7
Fort Myers close to Naples in the first half, but the 1-2 punch of Jamar Jerome and Sam Sparacio made sure the Golden Eagles won their fifth game of the year.
Sparacio led Naples (5-1-1) with 180 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Jerome also had 152 yards and a score rushing in Naples’ nondistrict win over the Green Wave in Staver Field, giving Fort Myers its fifth straight loss. Nicksen Volvic also had two touchdowns.
For Fort Myers (2-5), Fred Jackson rushed for 62 yards. The Green Wave backfield totaled 171 rushing yards.
The Golden Eagles offset a decent night of passing for Fort Myers quarterback Dom Ardezzone, who threw for 138 yards and helped the Green Wave stay close in the first half.
Fort Myers moved the ball crisply on its first drive, but it stalled on fourth down at the Eagles’ 37-yard line.
Taking over near midfield, Naples needed only four plays to score first. Jerome sprinted 43 yards for a touchdown to put Naples ahead 7-0 with 7:19 left in the first.
The Green Wave tied it up on Trevor Moate’s 2-yard scamper with 1:08 left in the first to tie the game at 7-all. The highlight of the drive was Ardezzone’s 28-yard completion to Jackson on fourth down deep in Naples real estate.
It remained a tie game until late in the first half. After Andre Ferdinand’s interception, the Golden Eagles went on an almost 80-yard scoring drive, ending on Sparacio’s 11-yard run to make it 13-7 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Eagles went on a methodical 75-yard scoring drive, highlighted by Jerome’s 49-yard run. Volvic capped off the drive with a 5-yard scoring run, making it a 20-7 game with 8:35 left in the third. Volvic contributed a 32-yard run for another touchdown later in the third to make it a 27-7 Naples lead with 4:40 left in the third.
Sparacio added a 70-yard scoring romp at the start of the fourth quarter.
Naples takeaways
The Naples ‘D’ was fundamentally sound once again. The Eagle defense increased its consecutive quarters streak without giving up a point to almost nine before Fort Myers scored late in the first. For the second straight week, Ferdinand intercepted an opposing quarterback and is one INT away from setting a school record.
“Andre is such an incredible person, and a blessing to coach, and one of the best people you will ever meet” Naples coach Rick Martin said. “He’s an amazing kid, and he works hard. It is great to watch him.”
Preston Marc also had a pickoff in the fourth quarter.
“Our defense just played the game plan it was supposed to,” Martin said. “We played hard, and in the second half, we wrapped us very well against the ballcarriers.”
Naples hasn’t let five wins go to its head. The Golden Eagles have seen it as a goal to just improve from the day before or since the last game. “We think of ourselves as a work in progress,” Martin said. “Every day, we come out and try to be better than the day before. And every Friday night, we just try to execute the game plan. We still see some stuff we have to work on.”
Naples overcame having three touchdowns called back. The Golden Eagles saw two rushing touchdowns and a punt returned for a score negated due to penalties in what was one of their few flaws on the evening. “Every time something was called back, we just went back to the huddle and encouraged each other. And then we just went back to work,” Martin said. “Of course, we have to go back to the lab and make sure these penalties don’t happen again. But I was proud of us responding that way.”
Fort Myers takeaways
The Green Wave was held to less than double-digit points for the fourth time in the last five games. Fort Myers interim coach Chad Terrell liked the Greenies’ offense, but it lacked the knockout punch. “We took shots against them, but we just missed some opportunities,” Terrell said. “We had our chances to make big plays, but we just missed them. It could’ve been a different game. Overall, I liked our game plan.”
With two district games coming up, the Green Wave must learn to execute. Fort Myers faces Riverdale and East Lee County in 5A-11 play in the next two weeks, and the Green Wave must be more opportunistic, according to Terrell. “I liked our mentality, even though it is always disappointing to lose like this,” Terrell said. “Our mentality and attitude lately is the best it has ever been. We just have to make plays when the opportunity presents itself. If we carry this kind of attitude into the next few weeks, we will win some games.”
−Thomas Corwin
Gateway 34, Bonita Springs 7
Homecoming night at Bonita Springs had a back-and-forth start. The first two drives ended in punts. Gateway made it to the Sharks’ 25 and had a touchdown called back on a penalty. Gateway was penalized two more times, making it fourth-and-28 on its own 47-yard line, resulting in another punt.
The Bull Sharks started with the ball in the second quarter. Backed up to their own 1-yard line on third-and-20, Keegan O’Connell threw a pick-6 that was called back for roughing the passer. The offense was unable to get anything going, resulting in the fourth punt of the game.
Gateway running back Clifton Hood Jr. had a 15-yard run on first down to set up the offense on the Bull Sharks’ 38-yard line. Junior Quarterback Parker Ellis delivered a pass to freshman wide receiver Aiden Gerardo, who made a great move to allow separation to get a 38-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
After yet another punt by Bonita Springs, the Eagles were able to find the end zone shortly after with senior running back Kashaad Gaymon scoring a 12-yard rush. Senior Bonita Springs linebacker Sebastian Corportan blocked an extra point, making it 13-0 Gateway.
After recovering an onside kick, Hood Jr. had an explosive 22-yard pickup to put the Eagles in a scoring opportunity. Ellis rolled out to his right to find sophomore wide receiver Jayden Hart wide open for a 10-yard touchdown for a 20-0 lead at halftime.
“The defense put the offense in great spots,” Bonita Springs coach Kyle Shafer said. “But we had a ton of mental mistakes all over the field.”
Bonita started with the ball after halftime and wasn’t backing down. O’Connell went for a 15-yard run on second down from their 30-yard line, putting them close to the 50. After multiple penalties on the Sharks, however, they ended their first drive of the second half with another punt, which was blocked by the Eagles, putting them at the Bull Sharks’ 25-yard line.
Ellis found Hart for 20 yards, which set up a Hood Jr. 5-yard rushing touchdown. O’Connell rushed for a 2-yard touchdown at the end of the third quarter.
After leading a drive that lasted more than five minutes, Ellis rolled out to his right and found Hart wide open in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown on fourth-and-2.
“Today I think we played as a unit,” Gateway head coach Charlie Powell said. “I think we showed moxie, we showed some grit, and we just continued to fight no matter what.”
−Jack Penney
Bishop Verot 43, Oasis 0
The first half of the Bishop Verot schedule was nothing short of a gauntlet, with the Vikings playing five of the state’s top 110 teams.
Faced with a team outside that ranking for the first time all season, the Vikings took advantage.
Bishop Verot had little trouble with the Sharks of Oasis in the first meeting between the schools, scoring 29 points in the first quarter and cruising to a 43-0 victory at Viking Stadium. The Verot win set up a district championship game next week in Belle Glade, when the Vikings battle undefeated Glades Central.
“It was a great district win, and it was a great way to celebrate our seniors,” Bishop Verot head coach Richie Rode said. “Having a local opponent here was great; it led to an awesome atmosphere for both sides.”
Verot had 29 points on the board in less than 10 minutes, with the first two touchdowns coming from unusual sources. On the first Vikings drive, Verot split offensive lineman Dennis Forte out wide, and the senior waltzed in from 8 yards out on a screen. Less than a minute later, fellow senior Micah Anderson jumped on an Oasis fumble and took it 20 yards to the endzone.
The Vikings added rushing touchdowns from Macrae Thompson and Deshon Jenkins before the end of the quarter, and a score from Alec Dusold in the second enacted the running clock for the entirety of the second half. Thompson would score his second touchdown of the night in the third quarter to finish off the scoring.
Bishop Verot takeaways
Everything worked. The Verot offense averaged more than 8 yards per play, racking up over 300 yards on just 37 offensive plays. Two running backs neared the century mark, with Dusold running for 95 yards on seven carries, and Jenkins running for 92 yards on four carries.
Defense suffocated. The Vikings defense rarely gave the Sharks a chance to breathe. Oasis ended the contest with minus-38 yards of offense on its 31 plays. The Vikings had five sacks and surrendered just one first down to the Sharks.
Game of the Year. Even with Verot’s loaded schedule, no game has more importance than next Friday’s tilt with Glades Central, which will decide the District 2A-10 championship. The Vikings will look to end an undefeated season for the Raiders for the second year in a row, with Verot beating Glades Central last season, 32-6, in the regular season finale.
Oasis takeaways
Potential. A bright spot on offense for the Sharks was freshman tailback Cameron Hill, who accounted for the lone Oasis first down. The youngster ran for more than 5 yards a carry and showed a burst that may prove to be explosive for the Sharks down the stretch.
Stepping up. Oasis knew a move back into FHSAA play would likely place the Sharks into a district with Lee County’s preeminent program, and yet welcomed the challenge of getting on the field with the Vikings.
Playoff hopes. Oasis ends the season with two winnable contests against Ida Baker and Golden Gate. If the Sharks can win their final two games of the season, a playoff berth is not out of the realm of possibility. According to the FHSAA Power Rankings, the Sharks’ strength of schedule currently ranks in the top 60 statewide, a metric that may improve after battling the Vikings.
− Ryan Murphy
Charlotte 45, Island Coast 13
Dylan Szych threw three touchdown passes, two to Trenton Curliss, and Jesiah McKnight had a huge night on the ground with two scores as Charlotte recovered from its bad loss last week against Cape Coral with a 45-13 mercy-rule victory at Island Coast on Friday to keep the Gators winless.
McKnight had 17 carries for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Szych was 8 for 11 passing for 144 yards and three scores.
The Tarpon defense, which allowed just 13 points despite having the defend seven turnovers, was spot on again. They didn’t allow a score until the reserves came in.
Terrance Taylor hit Christian Henderson on a 71-yard bomb to get the Gators on the board late in the third quarter. Taylor found Tondrick Mack on an 80-yard touchdown pass in the fourth to conclude the scoring and the game after the lights went out in the stadium with four minutes left.
Taylor was 12 for 28 for 240 yards and two touchdowns, though most of that was with Charlotte’s reserves in. Henderson had six catches for 119 yards.
Island Coast takeaways
Taylor is starting to develop as a quarterback as the offensive line improves. He’s just a sophomore, but he’s done a better job the last two weeks moving the ball, because he’s gotten time to find receivers. Coach Steve O’Neal said it’s been tough since the Gators have played tough teams. “We’re going through a learning curve. The front line was a problem at the start of the season, and now they’re stepping it up. We have skill kids capable of doing big things, and we saw that tonight. If we continue to mature up front we’ll be all right.”
The Gators are getting better, though they continue to make mistakes. O’Neal has focused on improving a little bit every game, and that’s what this young team has done. “We’re young and inexperienced. We keep working hard and try to get better every week. We improved in some things tonight, and there are some we need to keep working on. We need to be more disciplined. Third and 30 is not a fun situation,” O’Neal said.
The inexperience O’Neal has talked about has shown a lot. The senior-heavy team of last year has given way to a group of players who had little to no varsity experience coming into the season. The Gators, despite some success through the air, did next to nothing on the ground. “We keep coming out here and focusing on ourselves and doing the things we need to do to get better. We are making small steps in that direction.”
− Chuck Ballaro
Sarasota Christian 48, Gateway Charter 14
Ben Milliken threw seven touchdown passes as Sarasota Christian rolled to a 48-14 win over Gateway Charter Friday night.
The Blazers scored on all seven of their first-half possessions, each one capped off by a Milliken TD pass, in taking a 48-7 lead into halftime. The seven touchdown passes broke a school record and increased Milliken’s total to 22 for the season.
Gateway quarterback Michael Walker scrambled 67 yards down the right sideline to get the Griffins on the board, and Tavares Robinson returned the second-half kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown to account for Gateway Charter’s points.
Gateway Charter takeaways
Same old story for the Griffins, who lost their sixth straight game. “Tonight it was all about the process,” coach Durell Fain said. “This week was the first time we were able to do a full 7-on-7. It was also the first time we were able to do 11-on-11 all year long. So we’re starting the process of building to what we eventually want to get to. That first half, it was a buzzsaw and we were kind of shell-shocked.”
Robinson’s kickoff return was a bright spot. “I told our guys at halftime ‘You’ve got to compete,'” Fain said. “Every single day, competition is the lifeblood of the sport. We played better in the second half and the past couple of weeks it’s been like that. We’ve just got to get off to a good start.”
Walker finished with 70 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Robinson had 27 yards on 7 carries and caught the only completion of the game for the Griffins for 44 yards.
The Griffins have a good shot at breaking their losing streak next week against a struggling Babcock Ranch team. “I hope we’re going to regroup this weekend as coaches and we’re going to come back Monday with a good game plan,” Fain said. “Like I said, competition is the lifeblood of the sport and we got to compete every day.”
− Bruce Robins
Avon Park 29, Ida Baker 19
The Bulldogs trailed 16-0 at halftime but mounted a second-half comeback that ultimately came up short.
“They came out and punched us square in the mouth and it took us three quarters to figure out how to respond,” Ida Baker coach Cullen O’Brien said. “But what I did like was how we responded. Our kids didn’t quit. They kept fighting all the way until the end.”
Quarterback Brody Root passed for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns, one to Nick Velez and the other to Jimmy Hynes. Nick Korf added a rushing touchdown for the Bulldogs.
LaBelle 62, Discovery 0
Marquay Bradshaw had three rushing touchdowns. Christopher Hernandez scored a rushing TD and caught one from Zachary Campbell and Aldrich Meyer had a rushing touchdown. Arrie Davis Jr. had two pick-sixes on defense.
SFCA 35, First Baptist 0
The King’s handled business on the road, defeating First Baptist via running clock in a 35-0 win.
Craighan Mitchell opened the scoring with a 55-yard touchdown run, before the two sides traded interceptions. SFCA led 14-0 at the break thanks to a pick from Connor Watermeier, who ran 25 yards to the end zone.
The first play out of the second half was Mitchell’s second touchdown, this one from 70 yards out.
Watermeier would score from a yard out to make it 28-0, before Austin Jennings triggered the running clock late in the third quarter with a 15-yard score.
Florida Christian 31, Aubrey Rogers 14
Brady Houser threw two TD passes, one each to Hudson King and Ryan Smith.
Community School 58, Zephyrhills Christian 18
Golden Gate 36, Clewiston 25
Westminster Academy 25, Evangelical Christian 7
Carrollwood Day 20, St. John Neumann 13
Keswick Christian 41, Canterbury 3
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Lely, Dunbar, Naples, South Fort Myers, Cape Coral pick up Friday football wins
Reporting by Ed Reed, Alex Martin, Dan DeLuca and Dustin B Levy, Fort Myers News-Press / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
